Kent – Thursday, December 17, 2020 – PARTA has been awarded a $40,000 grant to study needed improvements along State Route 59 in Franklin Township, between Horning Road and State Route 261, to benefit transit, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic.
The grant was unanimously approved by the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) Policy Committee during its last virtual meeting of the year on December 17.
“It’s difficult for pedestrians who live, work, and travel this area to navigate it due to the lack of sidewalks, crosswalks, and signage,” said PARTA General Manager Claudia Amrhein. “We’re excited about the opportunity to identify strategies to make that stretch of the roadway safer and easier to traverse for our riders, those on foot, and bicyclists.”
AMATS is providing the grant through its Connecting Communities Program, which is designed to assist in the development of plans that promote vibrant, livable communities. The PARTA study will identify areas where sidewalks could be extended, crosswalks installed, crossing signals implemented, mid-block crossing areas highlighted, and better transit passenger amenities added.
Organized in 1975 under Section 306.32 of the Ohio Revised Code, PARTA provides fixed-route, ADA Complementary Paratransit and Demand Response service throughout Portage County. PARTA also operates the Kent Central Gateway Transit Center and parking deck in downtown Kent. In 2018, PARTA constructed the first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling station in Portage County.
For more information contact PARTA Communications and Public Advocacy Advisor Denise Baba at 330-678-7745 or email dbaba@partaonline.org.
